Praise for Abigail Adams

“In the picture that Ms. Levin draws, Abigail Adams is one with whom women of any century can identify.… This biography … is not only a report of her uninhibited observations of the national scene but a highly charged reaction to events as they affected her husband.… Abigail Adams has been long overdue a full-scale biography. This is a thorough one.”

—The New York Times

“[Mrs. Levin found] details that give impressive breadth and depth to her account.… The frequent apt selections from her letters and other primary sources are woven into a narrative that is reportorial in tone, but always sympathetic.… Levin’s life accurately reflects the intimacy and expansiveness [of Abigail’s] interests.”

—Christian Science Monitor

“In her biography, Abigail Adams, Levin goes beyond heroine worship. She underlines the bitterness of self-sacrifice to liberty’s demands, the abuse from journalists, the physical and financial hardships served up to Abigail and her family as they moved from their quiet country life to European courts and the Presidential mansion.… Abigail Adams is candid and perceptive.”

—Smithsonian

“The impression of Abigail Adams that Phyllis Levin gives us is a woman of enduring zest and inquiring intellect who made the most of every opportunity that came her way.… As wife of the second president and mother of the sixth, she was an intimate and enthusiastic participant in the founding of the new nation.… Those readers with a serious interest in early American history will be attracted to [Levin’s] book.”

—Dallas Times Herald

“A biography that reads much like a diary … Levin’s touching book presents interesting insights into the life of revolutionary America.”

—UPI

“An exquisitely thorough biography [of] … an endlessly fascinating woman … holds the reader by the personal details.”

—The Cleveland Plain Dealer

“One of the great women of the time was Abigail Adams, the strong hand guiding the Adams family … Abigail Adams was indeed real, and this biography brings that home to the modern reader.”

—Detroit Free Press

“[Abigail Adams] is a pleasure to read, and Levin’s rich documentation makes this the most complete biography we have on this remarkable First Lady.”

—Betty Boyd Caroli, author of First Ladies